Not applicable.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of ball retrieval apparatus in general and in particular to a tennis ball retrieval device that recycles used tennis balls.
2. Description of Related Art
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,056,786; 4,210,327; 5,33,854; and, 3,874,666, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse tennis ball retrieval arrangements.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical tennis ball retrieval device that employs a used tennis ball to retrieve new tennis balls.
With all of the prior art arrangements, newly fabricated materials are employed to form a releasably capturing arrangement to retrieve a new tennis ball having a relatively pristine fuzzy surface which totally ignores the fact that while the normal useful life span of a tennis ball is relatively short for its original purpose, it can provide a prolonged useful life in another reincarnation.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need among environmentally responsible tennis players for a new and improved tennis ball retrieval device that employs a recycled tennis ball as the primary component of the retrieval device and the provision of such a construction is a stated objective of the present invention.
Briefly stated, the tennis ball retrieval device that forms the basis of the present invention comprises in general a ball retrieval unit and a mounting unit that is adapted to secure the ball retrieval unit to the bottom of the handle of a tennis racquet.
As will be explained in greater detail further on in the specification, the ball retrieval unit comprises in general a used tennis ball having its lower segment removed to form a receptacle wherein, a plurality of openings is created in the remainder of the unsevered portion of the tennis ball extending upwardly from the sever line to create a plurality of flexible gripping fingers or flaps that will expand to frictionally engage the periphery of another tennis ball.
In this manner, the retrieval device of this invention is not only environmentally responsible by using recycled tennis balls, but also produces an aesthetically pleasing appearance when affixed to a tennis racquet.